"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite," said W.C. Fields, "and furthermore, always carry a small snake." From across the table and under the table at pubs, alehouses, wine bars, and vineyards has come a veritable river of thoughts about drinking. Spanning the ancient ("The man who isn't jolly after drinking is just a driveling idiot to my thinking," said Euripides) and the modern ("Alcohol—the cause of and the solution to all of life's problems," according to Homer Simpson), this is the world's wit, wisdom, and inebriated ramblings about beer, wine, whiskey, gin, and every other alcoholic substance that humans have used to pickle their livers. Here too are favorite drink recipes, watering spots, and drinkers' profiles, in a book you'll want to keep next to the Beefeater and bitters.